We Made It 11 Months and 1 Hour

It has always been my goal for Ben to make it one year without getting sick. And while we haven't kept him in a plastic bubble like the John Travolta character from the 1970's tv movie, at times it's felt pretty close to that.

A few months ago Ben had a rash on his face that we suspected was a food related allergy. When I called the doctor's office the phone nurse started asking a lot of probing questions. I could tell she was trying to determine if Ben had Hoof and Mouth Disease, (which is typically spread from kid to kid in daycare/school/you get the idea).

Our conversation went something like this:
Momma P: "But he hasn't been around other kids"
Nurse: "He could have caught it when you took him out."
Momma P : " But we don't take him out."
Nurse: " No, like at the supermarket or the mall."
Momma P: "Again, we -don't - take - him - out"
Nurse, sounding aghast: "Not even to the mall?"
Momma P:"Especially not the mall."
Nurse: "But you take him to the supermarket."
Momma P: "Only twice."
Nurse: "Ok, it's probably a food allergy."

We stopped feeding Ben apples, pears, and anything made by Earth's Best (which we now call Earth's Rash) and the rash cleared up.

Ben turned 11 months on February 22nd. At one in the morning he woke up screaming. Earlier that evening Nick and I had discussed finally letting the kid cry himself to sleep when he awoke in the middle of the night. But when I heard him screaming something sounded different. I went in and the boy little guy's face was bright red and he was very hot.

Ben had his very first fever. 102.9 . So, officially, Ben made it to 11 months and 1 hour without getting sick.

By the next afternoon the fever was gone and we were left with a very clingy baby with a little runny nose. The doctor checked him out Friday and his ears and throat were perfect.

Ben's still a little cough-y these days, but seems to have made it through unscathed. And while we didn't reach our goal, we're pretty proud of how far Ben has come.